Harry Kane continued his superb goal-scoring form to help Tottenham produce one of the narrow football results of the weekend in the Premier League. Before the game even began, Cristian Stellini and Roberto De Zerbi collided, setting the tone for a fiery contest that was lit up barely 10 minutes in when Heung-Min Son bent in beauty for his 100th Premier League goal. He is the first Asian player to achieve that feat. When the ball looked to hit Kaoru Mitoma high up on the shoulder or chest, his strike was controversially called out for handball, with VAR eventually affirming the linesman’s call. On his 200th Premier League game, Lewis Dunk blasted in a header from a corner in 34 minutes to give Brighton a merited equalizer.
Danny Welbeck, a former Arsenal striker, thought he had completed the comeback when he smashed a shot at goal 10 minutes into the second half, but the effort deflected in off teammate Alexis Mac Allister, with VAR ruling it hit the Argentine’s arm on the way through and disallowing the goal. A fight ensued on the sidelines as the coaching staff of the two teams squared off. Stellini moved away from the shoving but, like De Zerbi, was given a red card for failing to control his coaches.
More drama was to follow, as Mitoma was denied what appeared to be a penalty after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg misjudged a clearance, caught the Brighton forward, and then trod on his foot in the area – but for the third time, Brighton was denied by VAR. Despite controlling possession and territory, it was Spurs who prevailed, with Kane slamming in Hojbjerg’s cut-back to secure a crucial three points in the race for Champions League football.
It had been six months since Tottenham had won 1-0 at Brighton, with Kane scoring both times. Spurs were in the midst of their best-ever start to a Premier League season at the time, and progress under Antonio Conte appeared to be on track. The defeat was one of five winless matches at the start of new Brighton manager De Zerbi’s term. Before Saturday’s game, both teams’ moods and momentum looked to have switched. However, this might be a crucial three points for Tottenham in their pursuit of a place in Europe’s best club competition – and a crushing blow for Brighton’s aspirations of surprising the big boys.
The stakes in this game were clear when De Zerbi repeatedly jabbed his finger at Stellini before the game even started, appearing to call his compatriot out on pre-match comments about the Brighton manager simply building on Graham Potter’s good work on the south coast. In the midst of the rage, Son produced a work of art, curving his shot into the side-netting from the corner of the penalty box to mark his debut.
Brighton believed they’d leveled when Mitoma pulled down Mac Allister’s wonderful lofted pass and finished past Hugo Lloris – but a flag was quickly raised, and a lengthy VAR review eventually sided with the handball ruling. It appeared to be harsh on the Japanese international. Lloris then had to make a sharp stop from Mac Allister before tipping Moises Caicedo’s drive onto the post seconds later, but the visitors got their merited equalizer as half-time loomed, with Dunk slamming in a back-post header after he was afforded room to attack a corner.
Brighton began the second half with authority, and a wonderful link-up between Welbeck and March looked to have delivered them a second with the help of a deflection off Mac Allister, catching out Lloris – but VAR determined it had gone in off his arm. Then there were amazing scenes in the dugouts when the Tottenham and Brighton coaching staffs battled. Stellini and De Zerbi argued about what had happened as they marched down the tunnel.
Cristian Romero raced into a challenge on Mitoma seconds after the restart, and if he had connected, he could have followed them back to the dressing room. Brighton, on the other hand, held their cool and forced another penalty shout when Hojbjerg stepped on Mitoma. VAR, once again, did not see it their way. Spurs, on the other hand, had been a threat on the counter all day, and it was a quick move up the pitch that provided the winner, with Kane smashing home. Cheers from the home crowd replaced calls of “Levy out.” Those fans had seen their team concede injury-time goals to draw in their previous two games, but they held on this time to maintain their position in the top four.
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